


Before They Fell

by radiantgem



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Poverty, Pre-BBS, for now anyway, i guess??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:39:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10106198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantgem/pseuds/radiantgem
Summary: Maybe they weren't supposed to fit in with everyone else. Maybe they were supposed to complete each other instead.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey look! A puzzle box!”

Terra looked over his shoulder from the trash bin he was in and wiped his hands on his shirt. It didn’t really help get the gunk out of it, but it was a force of habit at this point. “Is the whole puzzle inside there? Maybe we can keep it to play with it at home.”

Aqua laid out the box on the cobblestone ground, swatting away any fallen leaves before lifting the cover open. She pouted in disappointment, “There’s only two puzzle pieces in here.”

Terra bent over next to Aqua and picked one of the pieces up, examining it, “Man. . . That sucks. Why would they throw out only two puzzle pieces, and not all of them?”

“Maybe these two were extras, and they already had the whole puzzle.” Her face fell as she picked up the other piece, “They were just extras.”

Noticing the change in demeanor, Terra’s brows furrowed in concern, “Is something wrong Aqua?”

Aqua sighed and continued to stare down at the puzzle piece, “It’s just- we’re just like these two puzzle pieces. Extras that are just useless to the already finished puzzle. The town has all the puzzle pieces it needs to be complete, it doesn’t need us,” Her voice cracked, “It doesn’t want us.”

Terra clenched his fists hearing her words. He couldn’t necessarily say it wasn’t true. They’ve been living like this for about 2 years now, jumping into garbage bins, hoping to find some edible leftovers inside. Every day they struggled to make due by making some munny. Whether it was by selling things from Aqua’s house or just digging up coins from the local fountain- their main focus was to survive. And they barely got by.

The townspeople knew who they were, they knew that they didn’t have a real home or anybody to care for them. They all knew, but they didn’t do anything about it. So yeah, maybe it was true. The town didn’t want them, so they didn’t help them.

To Terra, the thought wasn’t that disheartening. He’s always had to struggle to survive, even before meeting Aqua. Sure, the orphanage took care of him for a bit, but he never belonged there, not really. He can see why it hurt Aqua though, she wasn’t always an orphan. She had somewhere to belong at one point in time, or something like it anyway. But that was years ago, and even now, they still don’t belong there, no matter how hard they tried.

Trying to find the right words to say, Terra looked at his puzzle piece and took a seat in front of Aqua, facing her. “But look,” he gently took her hand that was holding the other piece and joined the two pieces together, “We fit each other perfectly.”

Aqua looked up at Terra with a look in her eye Terra couldn’t really decipher. He scratched his cheek and continued, “We might not fit in with the town, but maybe, we were never supposed to fit in with it. Maybe we were supposed to fit each other instead.”

Aqua’s eyes flared open at his statement and Terra flushed in response.  _ Shoot _ . He didn’t mean for the last part to come out wrong.

“Er, uh, I mean fit  _ in  _ together! N-not like-” He was cut off by a pair of skinny arms wrapping around his neck. He could feel the smile on her face as she rested her head on Terra’s shoulder. “I know what you meant silly.”

Relieved, Terra exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he wrapped his arms around Aqua’s waist, “Good.”

Content with the embrace, Terra closed his eyes and rested his chin on Aqua’s shoulder. If he focused hard enough in the hug, he could forget about how hungry he was. He could forget about the all the leaves on the ground, and what it meant for them. A gust of wind blew through the alley, causing Aqua to tighten her grip in response. Unfazed by the wind, Terra began to rub Aqua’s upper back in the hopes of warming her up a bit, knowing she was naturally cooler than he was.

He thought he imagined it, but he could’ve sworn he felt a grin grow on her face as she lifted her head from his shoulder. Before he could even open his eyes to see what Aqua was up to, he felt her quickly peck his cheek. His eyes shot open as his whole body went rigid. He felt his face grow exceedingly warm, the heat spreading to the tips of his ears. His mouth hung open, silently moving as if in an attempt to get some words out. Maybe if his brain didn’t short-circuit, he would’ve been able to say something. He promptly gave up on the notion and decided to just bury his face in her hair. 

Aqua hid her face in the crook of Terra’s neck, and he could feel her beaming at his ruffled state. It was probably all she could do to keep herself from outright laughing at his reaction. It wasn’t the first time she did it, but even so, she didn’t do it often enough for it to not be embarrassing, so she knew exactly what to expect from him. 

Once she was able to regain control of herself, she unwrapped her arms from his neck and stood up, “I think we should go home now.”

Terra avoided her eyes as he lifted himself off the ground, still self-conscious over what just happened, “Hm.”

Giggling softly, Aqua held out her hand to him and smiled brightly. Albeit he was still avoiding her gaze, Terra joined their hands together, trying to hold back a smile. He failed.

* * *

 

“Despite my repeated efforts to calm this restlessness, it has continued to plague me for weeks now. I have read all the books in the castle library, I have meditated, I went to the town nearby and nothing seems amiss. And yet this feeling continues to bother me,” Master Eraqus sighed, frustrated. 

The scarlet crystal embedded in the castle walls revealed a pensive Yen Sid reflecting off the crystal’s light. His eyes were closed as he stroked his long grey beard, humming in thought.

“As far as I am concerned, there is no threat between the balance of light and darkness. With that in mind, there is no need to be worried about any incoming danger.”

“Then what could it be?”

Yen Sid stopped stroking his beard and opened his eyes at Eraqus, “When was the last time you left the Land of Departure?”

Master Eraqus crossed his arms in contemplation, “It has been a few months now, if my memory is correct.”

At this, Yen Sid stared at Eraqus pointedly, “Master Eraqus, I am sure you haven’t forgotten the lessons about importance of changing your surroundings the Master taught us in our training years.”

Eraqus chuckled, although a bit sheepishly, “No, I haven’t forgotten.”

“Perhaps it is time to take break from your familiar surroundings. Go to a new world for a spell, and maybe that alone will bring you out of this ‘rut’ you’ve been suffering from. And who knows,” Yen Sid paused as he looked over his chair at the stars shining outside his window, “you may even meet someone who will enable you to see from a new perspective,” when he turned back towards Eraqus, there was a knowing look in his eyes

Eraqus arched his eyebrow at the vague statement, but didn’t question it. It wasn’t the first time Yen Sid gave him an obscure reading of the stars, and he knew even if he asked for any elaboration, he wouldn’t get any. Besides, his predictions came true more often than not, and this one seemed harmless enough. If anything, it sounded as if leaving will do more good than anything else. He shook his head lightly and gave his old friend a warm smile, “Very well. I will take your advice and visit a new world tomorrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

When Terra opened his eyes, everything in sight was covered by a thick layer of snow. He squinted his eyes against the harsh gusts of wind sapping away any remaining warmth he had in his face. The snow carried by the wind ravaged the land without end, and he wasn’t spared from its wrath. He tried to move his body to get to any source of warmth, but his arms and legs were heavy and numb from the freezing weather.

He weakly moved his head to the side, letting his eyes wander over the white expanse, now getting increasingly blurry. As his eyesight began to fail, he felt his breathing slow down and his heart rate decrease. It was at that moment that he realized that he was all alone, with nobody there to help him out of the blizzard. As his eyes began to close with the growing sense of drowsiness that began to consume him, he realized something was wrong.

_Where’s Aqua?_

He struggled to open his eyes, the sluggishness driven away by a new kind of energy: panic. As the snow and wind relentlessly attacked his already failing eyes, he tried to call out her name, only for a small whimper to come out. His throat was too weak to form words. As the feeling of helplessness began to sink in, he thought he heard someone in the distance.

_W. . up. . . Te. . . ak. . . p. ._

Unable to see anything in front of him, he closed his eyes, letting the numbness consume him and letting him fall asleep.

* * *

 

“ _Terra_!”

Terra shot upwards out of bed, frantically looking around, sweat dripping from his forehead. He felt two bony hands hold the side of his face, and his shoulders dropped with relief when he saw Aqua’s face, “Aqua,” he rasped.

Her hair was mussed, most likely from tossing and turning in her sleep. Her eyes were wide with alarm and worry. “You were having a nightmare. You kept mumbling in your sleep, and you didn’t look so good either,” she wiped his forehead with the sleeves of her oversized sweater.

Leaning into the touch, Terra took comfort in the simple gesture, noting how it made the anxiety in his heart go away. “It was scary,” he mumbled.

Aqua frowned a little, “What happened?”

Terra shook his head, he couldn’t tell her what happened. Especially since he knew it wasn’t a nightmare, it would only make her panic.

She tilted her head and placed the palm of her hand over his heart, “Is it another one of your feelings?”

He covered her hand with his own as his heartbeat calmed down and nodded.

“Oh Terra. . .” Aqua moved towards him, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her free arm around his middle, “It’ll be okay. Even if it doesn’t feel like it will.”

Terra gave her hand another squeeze, trying to swallow the ball in his throat, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. His small body began to tremble lightly, which prompted Aqua to rub circles in his back. He leaned his head against hers and held her back as he laid himself back on the pillow. She shifted her body so she could be more comfortable, laying her head against his chest instead. He laid his chin atop her head.

Terra kept blinking tears away, only for a couple of strays to escape from the corner of his eyes. As tired as he was, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep. Not because of a fear of falling back to the same nightmare, it wasn’t one, so it wouldn’t come back even if he did fall back asleep. What kept him awake was the knowledge of how little time he had left. How much time he had left with Aqua.

Aqua began humming what he assumed was a lullaby of some sort, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. The tune only made her drift off, leaving Terra alone with the darkness of the night and his thoughts.

* * *

 

When Aqua woke up, it was from the morning light coming through the window nearby. She lightly stretched, not wanting to wake Terra up, only for him to shift his head to the side to look down at her.

“Terra. . .?” Aqua mumbled, her voice still hoarse from sleep. “You’re up?” Out of the two of them, Terra was always the one who slept in in the morning. Aqua was usually the one to drag him out of bed.

Terra nodded, his eyes looking at her yet seeming distant at the same time. She noticed there were bags underneath his eyes, “You couldn’t sleep?”

He avoided looking directly at her, “We should get ready.”

She frowned at him but complied, sitting up as a sharp chill struck her body. She quickly grabbed a hoodie that was two years too small for her. Thought it barely reached her waist when she put it on, it was better than nothing. She looked over at Terra and saw him just putting on a light sweater over his faded t-shirt. She envied how much more immune to the cold he was than her, it would make doing her work a lot easier with less layers.

“I’ll go get the water.”

Terra nodded, “I’ll start the fire.”

Aqua took a big inhale to mentally prepare herself for the cold before taking off through the front door. She immediately shuddered at the blast of cold air and hurriedly went towards one of the large buckets full of rain water. Aqua grabbed it by the handles and dragged it back towards the house.

When she came back inside, Terra just finished starting the fire in the fireplace. She saw him rubbing the back of his hand against his sweater.

“I got it.” She gestured towards the bucket.

“Mm.” Terra poured some of the water into a small pot and held it over the fire. She saw a red mark on his wrist.

“What happened here?” She pointed at the injury.

“Oh, I burned myself a little.”

“You did what?!”

“It was by accident! I wasn’t paying attention. Besides, it’s fine.”

“Not it is not!”

“Yes it is!”

“ _Terra_ !” She stomped her foot, causing him to flinch, “Put that pot down _now_!”

Terra sighed resignedly and did as she said.

“We’re going to take care of that right now.”

Using what they had readily available, Aqua used some of the rainwater to wash it over the burn. She grabbed a piece of cloth they had cut out from an old t-shirt and tied it around his wrist. She would’ve rather used  a bandage or something cleaner, but they ran out of those a long time ago, and the couldn’t afford to sell anything else for munny. “There,” she patted his wrist and pecked it, “now it’ll get better in no time.”

Terra was staring at her handiwork when he mumbled, “Thanks.”

Aqua frowned. What was wrong with him?

They continued their usual morning routine, purify the water in the pot, using that water, they brushed their teeth, their face and fixed their bed heads to the best of their ability. When they were done, they took the remaining water and poured it into two cups to drink out of. They didn’t have any food to eat, so water would have to suffice.

Aqua was about to head out to find any odd job she can do for the day when she felt a hand gently grab her wrist.

“Wait,” Terra said as he wrapped a bright red scarf around her neck, “There.”

Aqua smiled sweetly, “Thanks Terra.”

For the first time that morning, he looked at her and smiled back.

* * *

 

When Master Eraqus arrived at the small town, the nagging feeling in his chest only grew stronger. _It would seem as though I came to the source of my discomfort._ He took a look at his surroundings, trying to decipher anything that may stick out. Unable to find anything interesting, he decided to explore the town.

From the dead leaves all over the ground, the gray sky, and they chills the wind brought to him, he could tell that winter would be approaching soon. The streets were empty for the most part, with the occasional pedestrian carrying a bag of groceries. There weren’t any children outside, so he could only assume they were in school.

Having seen enough of the town, he decided to take a stroll down one of the neighborhoods. Most of the houses had clear lawns, with the occasional one which still had leaves to be raked and grass to be cut. The feeling only grew stronger here.  Eraqus placed a hand over his heart, “I’m close.” He sped up his pace and scanned the area ahead of him, his eyes locked on a small figure with long blue hair and a bright red scarf that hung loosely around her neck.

He squinted his eyes, _Why is this girl outside in the cold when she should be in school?_ He slowed down his pace and called out to here, “Young lady, what are you doing outside in this freezing cold? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

The girl flinched and quickly turned around to face him, distress flaring in her blue eyes. She held the rake in front of her as if it was a weapon, “W-who are you?”

Eraqus held his hands up in surrender, “I mean you no harm, I just want to know why you’re out here and not in school.”

The girl started to slowly back up towards the pile of leaves she made, “That’s none of your business, now leave me alone.”

He took note of her dirty hair and sunken cheeks. He felt his heart drop. _She’s malnourished._ “When was the last time you’ve had a proper meal, child?”

Her eyes went downward as she put a hand over her stomach for a moment, before she she shook her head and started to yell, “I already told you that’s none of your business! Now leave me alone!”

He gently waved his arms in an attempt to calm her down, “Please, I can help you, I can-”

“I don’t _need_ any of your help!” She swung the rake towards the pile of leaves and blinded his vision with a flurry of leaves around him. He cried out in surprise and swatted the leaves away. The red scarf laid on the ground where she once stood, and the girl was sprint out of the neighborhood.

“Wait! He looked between the forgotten scarf and the quickly retreating form of the little girl.

The apprehension he felt only grew as she ran away. I suppose there isn’t much of a choice here. Eraqus held his arm out towards the girl and muttered an enchantment spell. Within seconds as e lost sight of the girl, he quickly followed the glowing footsteps that trailed off from her.

* * *

 

Terra frowned as he counted any in his hands. He never expected much given none of the townspeople never bother to hire them given the rumors and his overall appearance, but it still stung to see such little munny for the day. That only meant Aqua had to work harder, since she was the only one who would get hired. But with winter approaching, that was the last thing he wanted. She didn’t do well in the cold, and she was small enough as it is.

While she worked, Terra scavenged for food and money. Besides dumpster diving, he knew where the trees that bore fruit were, he knew to collect money from the well or the water fountain (as far as he was concerned, all the munny there was given up, so he didn’t consider it stealing). He was pretty skilled in this department and generally had no problems finding money or fruit to eat. It wasn’t a lot, but it helped them get by. But when it gets colder, the trees don’t bear fruit, and with less people going outside, the less money the wells and the fountains have. Winter just made surviving much harder than it already was.

He clenched his hand and shoved the munny into his pockets. He tried thinking of a way to get Aqua to eat most of the little bit of food they’d be able to afford to eat for the day. There was only one problem. _She’s so stubborn._ Terra knew that he didn’t have a lot of time left, so he had to make sure Aqua would survive this coming winter, somehow.

He sighed as he entered the neighborhood he dropped Aqua off at, and looked around. Nothing. He felt uneasiness fester in his stomach. He quickened his pace, scanning the various front lawns. When approached one that was littered with dead leaves, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the red scarf he gave her that morning.

With shaking hands he picked the scarf off the ground. _No_ . He remembered his dream and how Aqua was nowhere in sight. He felt panic flare out in his chest as his breathing became rapid. _No no no no, please_. He spun around and took off in a sprint.

Terra ran to ther house, praying she’d be inside. “Aqua!” he called upon opening the front door. He was greeted with silence. His hands clenched into fists as he pressed on and checked every room in the house only to find it empty. His whole body was trembling at this point, and his eyes started to water as helplessness coursed through his body.

He shook his head, trying to get himself together. “She’s not gone, she’s not gone, maybe she’s in town.” He knew was grasping at straws, but if it would lead him to finding her, then so be it.

Terra ran around town, checking all the dead trees they used to pick fruit at in the summer, checking the well and the water fountain they’d collect money from, the store, anywhere they would hang around. He stopped at the alley they dumpster dived in the day before, but only because he couldn’t run anymore, his lungs and legs screaming in protest. He bent over with his hands gripping his pants, trying to blink back the tears building up in his eyes. “No. . .” he muttered, trying to catch his breath, and what little hope he had left that was slipping out of his grasp.

“Terra!”

Terra jolted upwards and quickly turned around only to get the air slammed out of his lungs by a familiar small body practically slamming herself against him in a hug. He looked down to see blue hair, only for his eyes to water again. “Aqua!” his voice cracked, “You’re okay!”

He returned her embrace with a bear hug of his own, slightly lifting her off the ground which resulted in a small squeal from her that only made him beam.

Their reunion was short lived however when Terra looked up to see a middle aged man walking in their direction. He immediately let go of Aqua and whispered, “Get behind me,” prompting Aqua to do just that. He held out his arms, blocking the man from getting to her and looked at him in the eye with defiance, “What do you want?”

He’s never seen the man before, and if he did, he definitely wouldn’t have forgotten him. With the armor on his chest and the long white robe, he gave off the impression that he was someone important. His dark grey eyes looked cautious, but more concerned than anything else.

The man knelt down on one knee and spoke softly, “I suppose I should’ve introduced myself earlier to your friend, and we could have had a better first meeting. My name is Master Eraqus, and I mean you both no harm.”

“Then why did you follow me?” Aqua asked with an accusatory tone.

“All I want to do is help.” He looked at Terra, “I can offer you food and shelter. From the looks of it, winter is approaching and I don’t want to leave you two children on your own to face it in your current state of being. I’m assuming you both don’t have any parents or guardians to care for you.”

Terra shook his head solemnly, but the mention of food and shelter ignited hope in his heart. _This is it!_

“We’re doing just fine without _your_ help,” Aqua assured.

“We need a moment to talk,” Terra exclaimed.

Eraqus nodded patiently as Terra turned to Aqua and gave her a pointed look.

Aqua glared over his shoulder towards Master Eraqus, “I don’t trust him Terra.” She didn’t even bother to whisper.

“Aqua!” he murmured, “He’s willing to give us food and a home to keep us safe. We need to take this chance.”

“And what if he’s lying?”

“He’s not.”

Aqua’s eyebrows furrowed, “And how-”

“I have a feeling that he’s our way out,” he gestured around the alley with his arms, “We can’t keep living like this Aqua. We can’t _survive_ like this for much longer.”

Aqua stared at him silently, her icy glare melting into something more like apprehension and trust. “Fine.”

Terra sighed with relief and gave her a reassuring smile. He gently took her hand and looked back towards Master Eraqus, “We accept your offer.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just to let you know, Terra is 10 and Aqua is 9 at this point in time.


End file.
